Taylor Martinez, Nebraska's dual-threat quarterback who was making a run at all-conference honors before injuries slowed him down, heads the Rivals.com Big 12 all-freshman team.

Martinez, a redshirt freshman, passed for 1,578 yards and rushed for 942 to help the Huskers reach the conference championship game.

Our top defensive freshman is Kansas State free safety Ty Zimmerman. A quarterback in high school, Zimmerman made a smooth transition to safety as he finished the season with 69 tackles. He intercepted three passes, including two in a rout of Texas.

Big 12 champion Oklahoma showed signs that it will continue to be a force with five selections, including wide receiver Kenny Stills, who had 53 catches for 713 yards. That was the most selections from any team.

Rather then bypass some deserving candidates, we decided not to necessarily be position-specific (i.e., guards, tackles, ends, free safeties, etc.) on our all-freshman teams along the lines and in the secondary.